Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2009, 58, 1, 43–62 doi:10.3176/earth.2009.1.05 Late Silurian–Early Devonian tessellated heterostracan Oniscolepis Pander, 1856 from the East Baltic and North Timan Tiiu Märssa and Valentina Karatajūtė-Talimaab a Institute of Geology at Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia;
[email protected] b Institute of Geology and Geography of Lithuania, Ševčenkos Street 13, LT 03223 Vilnius, Lithuania;
[email protected] Received 12 August 2008, accepted 18 November 2008 Abstract. Pander (1856, Monographie der fossilen Fische der silurischen Systems der Russisch–Baltischen Gouvernements. Obersilurische Fische. Buchdruckerei Kaiserlichen Akademie des Wissenschaften, St. Petersburg, 91 pp.) first established four Oniscolepis and three Strosipherus species, which later, except O. magna, were referred to Oniscolepis dentata, the name fixed by Rohon (1893, Mémoires de l´Académie Impériale des Sciences de St.-Petersbourg, 41, 1–124) as the senior synonym. Using modern techniques, we redescribe and illustrate morphological and histological varieties of its platelets, tesserae, and scales. No articulated specimen of O. dentata has ever been found. Fragments of head platelets, two branchial plates, an orbital plate (or tessera), and body ridge elements are described for the first time. The microstructure of scales of O. dentata specimens from the East Baltic and North Timan differs only slightly from that of scales from the type locality, Saaremaa Island, Ohesaare Cliff, which has fewer and finer dentine tubules and Sharpey’s fibre tubules than the specimens from North Timan. Oniscolepis Pander and Kallostrakon Lankester are united into a new family Oniscolepididae fam.